Cooper City mayoral candidate drops out of race days before election

Greg Ross will become the new mayor of Cooper City after his opponent Gary… (courtesy )

October 31, 2012|By Susannah Bryan, Sun Sentinel

COOPER CITY — — Less than a week before Election Day, mayoral candidate Gary Laufenberg withdrew from the race.

That means his opponent, attorney Greg Ross, will become mayor when Debby Eisinger steps down Nov. 20. Eisinger is leaving office because of term limits.

Laufenberg sent a letter to City Hall on Wednesday morning announcing his decision to withdraw. The letter did not give a reason.

Laufenberg told the Sun Sentinel he was quitting the race for personal reasons. He declined to elaborate.

"Greg Ross ran an honest and professional campaign, and he had true grassroots support in the city," said Katie Edwards, campaign manager for Ross. "I'm confident that Greg would have won regardless of his opponent's last-minute decision to withdraw. I'm not going to speculate about the reasons behind Gary's decision, but certainly hope that he remains involved in the community."

Ross was in trial Wednesday afternoon and could not be reached for comment.